What is lower back pain?
Lower back pain can range from mild, dull, annoying pain, to persistent, severe, disabling pain in the lower back. Pain in the lower back can restrict mobility and interfere with normal functioning and quality of life.
What is neck pain?
Neck pain is pain that occurs in the area of the cervical vertebrae in the neck. Because of its location and range of motion, the neck is often left unprotected and subject to injury.
Pain in the back or neck area can be acute, which comes on suddenly and intensely, or chronic, which can last for weeks, months, or even years. The pain can be continuous or intermittent.
What causes back and neck pain?
Even with today’s technology, the exact cause of back and neck pain can be found in few cases. In most cases, back and neck pain may be a symptom of many different causes, including any of the following:
- Overuse, strenuous activity, or improper use such as repetitive or heavy lifting
- Trauma, injury, or fractures
- Degeneration of vertebrae, often caused by stresses on the muscles and ligaments that support the spine, or the effects of aging
- Infection
- Abnormal growth such as a tumor or bone spur
- Obesity due to increased weight on the spine and pressure on the discs
- Poor muscle tone
- Muscle tension or spasm
- Sprain or strain
- Ligament or muscle tears
- Joint problems such as arthritis
- Protruding or herniated (slipped) disk and pinched nerve
- Osteoporosis and compression fractures
- Congenital (present at birth) abnormalities of the vertebrae and bones
- Abdominal problems, such as an aortic aneurysm